'DISGRACEFUL, DISRESPECTFUL': Australian lawmaker shocks Senate by turning up in a burqa

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson appeared in the Australian
senate today wearing the full black covering of a burqa.

She wore it for several minutes until leaping to her feet when
the Senate President gave her the call to ask a question asking
to ban the burqa in Australia "in light of national security."

Hanson’s call is part of a long-running campaign by the
controversial Queensland senator, who, when she returned to
parliament last year, claimed that the country was going to be
over-run with Muslims – a variation on her claim 20 years earlier
that Australia was being "swamped by Asians."

She claimed there was a "large majority of Australians" who
wished to ban the burqa.

In response attorney-general George Brandis with an emphatic "no"
and then chastised Hanson for her behavior.

"I’m not going to pretend to ignore the stunt that you have tried
to pull today by arriving in the chamber dressed in a burqa when
we all know that you are not an adherent of the Islamic faith,"
he said.

"I would caution you and counsel you senator Hanson, with
respect, to be very, very careful of the offense you may do to
the religious sensibilities of other Australians.

"We have about half a million Australians in this country of the
Islamic faith and the vast majority of them are law-abiding, good
Australians… It is absolutely consistent with being a good,
law-abiding Australian and a strict, adherent Muslim."

Senator Brandis said he’d had responsibility for the national
security for four years and intelligence and law enforcement
officials worked closely with the Muslim community.

His voice quivered with emotion as he concluded his response,
saying "To ridicule that community, to drive it into a corner, to
mock its religious garments is an appalling thing to do and I
would ask you to reflect on what you do."

The senate erupted with applause as he concluded his reply and
Labor senators and many on the crossbench stood to applaud.

Senate President Stephen Parry said that when Hanson entered the
chamber, he confirmed her identity, and declined to comment on
her attire.

She also had her red senator’s pin, which identifies her as a
member of the chamber, pinned to the outside of her garment.

In subsequent debate, Labor’s Penny Wong said Hanson’s actions
were "disgraceful" and "disrespectful."

"I make this point on behalf of all of us on this side of the
chamber, it is one thing to wear religious dress as a sincere act
of faith, there is another to wear it as a stunt here in the
chamber," Wong said.

And the attorney-general’s response won praise from Labor senator
Sam Dastyari, who is Muslim.

George Brandis was just brilliant in the chamber. Just brilliant. Strongest I have ever heard him.

When question time in the senate ended at 3pm Greens senators
crossed the chamber and shook hands with senator Brandis.

She subsequently issued the following media release on Facebook:

Senator Pauline Hanson has attended question time dressed
modestly in a full burqa and will later be delivering a speech
in Parliament calling for the Government to ban full face
coverings in public.

Senator Hanson said she made the decision to attend question
time in a full face covering because she believed the need to
ban full face coverings in public was an important issue facing
modern Australia that needed to be discussed.

Senator Hanson said she wished to raise the issue of full face
covering presenting a security threat not only to Parliament
House, but also to the greater Australian public.

Senator Hanson said that she believed that full face covering,
such as the burqa, were oppressive, presented barriers to
assimilation, disadvantaged women from finding employment, were
causing issues inside our justice system, presented a clear
security threat and had no place in modern Western society.

Senator Hanson said that this was a debate that was happening
across the world and Australia could not hide from a difficult
conversation out of fear of causing offense.

Senator Hanson is scheduled to deliver a speech outlining the
full extent of her position later today.